An introspective look might reveal that the public has reason to be disgusted with school districts that for too long have displayed an arrogant, paternalistic attitude toward their patrons and the cities in which they reside.

The relationship between Granite School District and South Salt Lake, for example, has been strained for nearly three years since Granite purchased the former FHP Hospital for its district office complex, complete with its own expert cafeteria chef and Trump-type fixtures in the private office of Superintendent Stephen Ronnenkamp.

South Salt Lake had been angling for a private developer to purchase the complex and develop it into office space that would funnel a nice tax flow into the city's coffers. Instead, Granite, which doesn't pay taxes to the city, used its substantial taxpayer-funded bank account to purchase the building without even notifying the city.

At the same time, Cottonwood Heights officials were complaining that Granite collects commercial property taxes from the city's premier office space off I-215 and the Old Mill corporate center, even though only 200 of its 36,000 residents are Granite district students and not a single Granite school is located within the city's borders.

South Salt Lake leaders' distaste for Granite was further soured by the district's attempt to close the city's only high school - Granite High - which was an anchor for local community events. Public outcry forced Granite to back off, but the district pulled so many traditional programs and class offerings from Granite that one would be hard-pressed to call it a real high school.

Then there is Jordan District Board of Education, whose officials initially told Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff he had no right to review the contents of their closed-to-the-public board meetings, even though, legally, Shurtleff is the school board's lawyer. When Shurtleff called Superintendent Barry Newbold in hopes of resolving a complaint that the district had violated the law by closing a meeting to discuss funding for security officers, Newbold refused to talk - on the advice of his own school attorney.

That was the explanation, despite the fact that it is Shurtleff's office that is defending several lawsuits against Jordan, including some that name Newbold as a defendant. Shurtleff had to file a lawsuit against his own client - Jordan District - to access the meeting's minutes.

Shurtleff and Newbold eventually resolved the issue, but the incident demonstrates the Caesar-like mentality of some school district officials.

A few months ago Shurtleff pondered whether to join a lawsuit brought by parents in Davis School District who were trying to find out what happened during closed-door discussions on new boundaries for all seven high schools. Because boundary issues can make or break a neighborhood, you would think parental notification would be a no-brainer.

Back to Granite. Here's what patrons had to say about the state's second-largest school district in a poll conducted last year: Bad listeners. Inflexible. Wishy-washy. Smug.

That image certainly seemed to conform with the Jordan School Board, whose part-time members decided to increase their pay to a level higher than first-year full-time teachers. At least the board reversed that decision last week amid a strong public backlash.